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An unexpected benefit of quarantine is the boom in online classes and learning opportunities. Exercising your brain and interacting with others can supply a much-needed dose of inspiration in times of uncertainty and stress.
This was certainly true for a recent online Ladino language course that drew hundreds of international participants. Taught by Professor Bryan Kirschen (SUNY Binghamton) and sponsored by the Sephardic Brotherhood, its popularity has already resulted in additional classes; there’s also an online summer intensive with the University of Washington’s Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.
Language courses are just one way to start (or continue) your Ladino studies. There is something online for everyone, including Library e-books on history, culture and literature; digitized primary sources, recipes, and music.
Learn about Ladino
Ladino is a Jewish language also known as Judeo-Spanish, Judezmo, Dzhudezmo, Djudio, Spaniolit, or Spanyol, or Muestro Spanyol. It is a variety of Spanish spoken by Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, that through migration has come to be spoken in many different countries. Ladino preserves aspects of medieval Spanish, combined with elements of Turkish, Greek, Serbo-Croatian, French, Italian, and Arabic, as well as already present Hebrew elements. It was historically written in Solitreo, a cursive Hebrew “Rashi” script.
Learn more about the language and preservation efforts.
NYPL E-Books : Explore Ladino history and culture with the following e-books, available with your library card
Literature and Folklore
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- Borovaya, Olga. The Beginnings of Ladino Literature: Moses Almosnino and His Readers
- Borovaya, Olga. Modern Ladino Culture: press, belles lettres, and theatre in the late Ottoman Empire
- Castelló, Elena Romero. Dos Colecciones de Cuentos Sefardíes de Carácter Mágico: Sipuré Noraot y Sipuré Pelaot: Edición y Estudio
- Koén-Sarano, Matilda. Folktales of Joha, Jewish Trickster. Translated from the Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) by David Herman; illustrations by Ezra Masch
- Ragen, Naomi. The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
- Stavans, Ilan, ed. The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature
For Kids
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- Ada, Alma Flor; Campoy, F. Isabel; pictures by David Diaz. Yes! We are Latinos
History
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- Birmingham, Stephen. The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite
- Moreno, Aitor García; Romero, Elena, eds. Estudios Sefardíes Dedicados a la Memoria de Iacob M. Hassán, Z"L
- Nadler, Stephen. Menasseh ben Israel : rabbi of Amsterdam
- Sachar, Howard M. Farewell España : the world of the Sephardim remembered
- Stein, Sarah Abrevaya. Family papers : a Sephardic journey through the twentieth century
Primary Sources: Discover oral histories, historical newspapers, documents, and books in these online collections
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- American Jewish Committee Oral History Project (New York Public Library)—includes 53 digitized oral history interviews with Sephardic Jews
- HathiTrust—Historical Ladino texts online.
- Historical Jewish Press—Read several Ladino newspapers, including from NYPL collection.
- Sephardic Studies Digital Collection (University of Washington)—One of the largest digital Ladino repositories, with books, documents, and audio
- Sephardi Studies Project, Taube Center, Stanford University—Translated and transliterated Ladino texts
- Washington State Jewish Archives—Photographs, oral histories, and other digitized materials.
For further research, try these guides from Duke University and the University of Michigan.
Cooking: Explore Sephardic cuisine with these e-books
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- Goldstein, Joyce. The New Mediterranean Jewish Table: Old World Recipes for the Modern Home
- Gómez-Bravo, Ana. Converso Cookbook (University of Washington website)
- Cohen, Vicky, and Fox, Ruth. Tahini and Turmeric: 101 Middle Eastern Classics—Made Irresistibly Vegan
Music@NYPL: Enjoy Ladino music with your library card
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- Adolphe, Bruce. Ladino Songs of Love and Suffering
- Ashk'farad, Klezmer and Ladino. Shir.
- Capilla Antigua de Chinchilla
- Endechar: Sephardic Romances and Songs
- Latino Ladino: Songs of Exile and Passion from Spain and Latin America
Music Websites
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- The Benmayor Collection of Sephardic Ballads and Other Lore-
- Song recordings collected by Prof. Rina Benmayor (Sephardic Studies Digital Collection, University of Washington)
- Folk Literature of the Sephardi Jews—Field recordings of ballads and oral literature, with transcriptions.
- Ladino Song Project (Gerard Edery)—Transcriptions of Ladino song lyrics with English translations.
- Milken Archive—Articles and multimedia on Jewish music.
- Recorded Sound Archives, Florida Atlantic University—Online music collection with substantial Ladino content. Get a free research login for increased access.
- Sephardic music.org—Comprehensive site on recorded Sephardic music.
- Songbooks—Ladino songbooks from the Sephardic Studies Digital Collection, University of Washington